November 07, 2011

It was a very warm spring weekend here in Sydney, and we got the first real taste of summer. I did some gardening on my little balcony - the herbs are growing fast and now there are even a few tiny tomatoes popping up! It'll be some time yet until they are ripe enough to eat, but I am so excited to see them grow.

Sunday was such a warm day that I felt like cooking us something light. These tasty eggplant and lentil stacks are a perfect vegetarian meal, and certainly perfect to feed my latest eggplant addiction. You could use beluga lentils too, but I had some green lentils waiting to be used, so I cooked them up instead. Goat cheese would be a great alternative to feta, but you can leave the cheese out if you like.

1. Rinse the lentils and place in a saucepan with plenty of fresh water. Bring to boil, then let simmer until just tender. Drain and set aside.

2. Brush the eggplant slices on both sides with olive oil. Heat a large frying pan over medium heat. Cook the slices for a few minutes on each side.

3. Mix the shallots, and sherry vinegar with the lentils. Season the mixture with a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper. You can add a dash of olive oil in the mix as well.

4. Place an eggplant slice on a serving plate, spoon on some lentils, add another layer of eggplant and lentils and top with a slice of eggplant. Crumble on some feta cheese and scatter the rocket leaves around. Repeat with the second stack. Serve immediately.